The Swing (INXS album)

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The Swing is Australian rock band INXS's fourth studio album, released in April 1984. It peaked at number one on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart for five non-consecutive weeks from early April to mid-May 1984. The lead single "Original Sin" was recorded in New York City with Nile Rodgers and featured Daryl Hall on backing vocals. Overall, the album featured a slightly harder-edged sound than their previous releases.

Background

By 1983 Australian rock band INXS attempted to expand their international profile with their fourth studio album, The Swing.[1] The Sydney-based group had formed in 1977 by three brothers Andrew on guitar and keyboards; Jon on percussion and drums; and Tim Farriss on guitar; together with Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar; Michael Hutchence on lead vocals; and Kirk Pengilly on guitar, saxophone, and vocals.[2][3][4]

In September 1983 the band travelled to New York City to work with Nile Rodgers (Debbie Harry, David Bowie, Kim Carnes) as producer at his Power Station studio.[1][4] It was the first time the group had recorded outside Australia and provided the album's lead single, "Original Sin" (December 1983).[1] Rodgers asked Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates to guest on backing vocals for the chorus, Hall later recalled "I don't know why because they're good singers, they didn't need me but I did it anyway".[5]

All four singles were co-written by Andrew with Hutchence,[6] while other album tracks were generally written with one or more additional band members.[6]

From December INXS were working with Nick Launay (Midnight Oil, Models) at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, to complete the rest of the album.[1][4][7] A cassette extended play of remixes, Dekadance, was also released in Australia.

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars[8]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[9]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that The Swing "retains the new wave pop sense and rock attack of their earlier albums, while adding a stronger emphasis on dance rhythms". He liked the improved songwriting "with more than half of the album featuring memorable hooks".[8] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, opined that "[it] boasted all the confident swagger and accomplished rock hooks of a band on the cusp of international acceptance".[2]

Fellow Australian journalists, John O'Donnell, Toby Creswell and Craig Mathieson, found that Rodgers' effort with "Original Sin" had delivered a track with a "confident rhythm" and helped the band so that "they now had focus; the lyrical image ... fitted their circumstances".[1] Meanwhile Launay, after hearing that track, "accepted the challenge" of providing a "sense of reinvention" for the group so that "post-punk affectations and new romantic plumage were fading away, revealing a rock band with funk leanings and pop instincts".[1]

Charting and awards

The Swing peaked at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart for five non-consecutive weeks from early April to mid-May 1984.[10] It remained in the top 100 for 104 weeks (over two years).[10][11] On the New Zealand Albums Chart it reached No. 6 – their first appearance on that chart.[12]

Beyond its local success, this album entered, for the first time in the band's history, the US Top 75, reaching No. 52 on the Billboard 200,[13] and the Canadian Top 40, where it reached No. 27 on the RPM 100 Albums.[14] In Europe, The Swing entered the Top 20 in France due to the big success of its single Original Sin which reached the French Top 5 during the summer of 1984.

The Swing provided three top 3 singles on the Australian charts. The lead single, "Original Sin", released in December 1983, peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart for two weeks.[10][15] The subsequent singles, "I Send a Message" (released March 1984) and "Burn for You" (July) reached No. 3; while their fourth single from the album, "Dancing on the Jetty" (October) appeared in the top 40.[10][15]

In 1992 Pengilly said "The album didn't really get received very well in the States. I think "Original Sin" did well in France, it went to number one in France in 84. I think it's still one of my favourite albums because it's very diverse and a lot of the tracks are danceable."[7]

In October 2010, The Swing, was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums at No. 56, with their 1987 album, Kick at No. 11.[1]

In 2011 The Swing was re-released as a "Remastered Edition." The Remastering Engineer was Giovanni Scatola.

In February 2014 The Swing returned to the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart,[16] with the local airing of a mini-series, INXS: Never Tear Us Apart, on the Seven Network.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence,[6] unless otherwise indicated. 

No. Title Length
1. "Original Sin"   5:19
2. "Melting in the Sun" (Tim Farriss, Jon Farriss, Hutchence) 3:25
3. "I Send a Message"   3:24
4. "Dancing on the Jetty"   4:34
5. "The Swing" (Garry Gary Beers, A. Farriss, T. Farriss, Hutchence, Kirk Pengilly) 3:52
6. "Johnson's Aeroplane" (A. Farriss) 3:53
7. "Love Is (What I Say)" (Beers, A. Farriss, Hutchence, Pengilly, Anthony Braxton-Smith) 3:42
8. "Face the Change" (A. Farriss, Hutchence, Pengilly) 3:34
9. "Burn for You"   4:59
10. "All the Voices"   6:06
Total length:
42:40

Personnel

INXS members
Additional musicians
  • Sherine Abeyratne – backing vocals
  • Andrew Duffield – backing vocals
  • Kim Liat Edwards – backing vocals
  • Daryl Hall – backing vocals on "Original Sin"
  • Sean Kelly – backing vocals
  • Norma Lewis – backing vocals
  • Jenny Morris – backing vocals
  • Phillip Mortlock
  • William Motzing – string arrangements
  • Frank Simms – backing vocals
  • David Spinner – backing vocals
Production work
  • Producers – Nick Launay, Nile Rodgers
  • Engineers – Nick Launay, Jason Porcaro
    • Assistant engineers – Jeremy Allom, Ross, Stewart, Allan Wright
  • Mixing – Nick Launay
Artwork
  • Paul Clarke – photography
  • Jon Watkins – cover art

Chart performance

Country Provider(s) Peak
position
Certifications
Australia[10] Kent Music Report 1 AUS: 5× Platinum
Canada[14] RPM 100 Albums 27
Netherlands[12] GfK Dutch Charts 37
New Zealand[12] Recorded Music NZ 6
United States[13] Billboard 200 52 US: Platinum[17]

Videos

  • "Original Sin"
  • "I Send a Message"
  • "Burn for You"
  • "Dancing on the Jetty"
  • "Melting in the Sun"
  • "Love Is (What I Say)"
  • "All the Voices" (Contains footage from Richard Lowenstein film Strikebound)

References

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Preceded by
1984 Shakin' by Various artists
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
2–22 April 1984
30 April – 13 May 1984
Succeeded by
Twentieth Century by Cold Chisel
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